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The Friends of the Washington and Old Dominion Trail (FOWOD) is a non-profit citizens organization dedicated to the preservation, enhancement and promotion of a unique recreational resource in northern Virginia: the W&OD trail, a 45-mile multi-use rail-trail that is owned and operated by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. We hope you will use this site to learn more about the trail, keep up to date on current events happening on or near the trail, support the efforts of the FOWOD, and share your thoughts and ideas with us.
Please note that the NVRPA maintains its own site, and that this one is wholly distinct from it.
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 Calendar of up-coming events |
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Significant detours, now in place
(1) Trail users should use extreme caution during the week of July 25-31, as the paved detour trail surface through the Loudoun Fairgrounds is shared with vehicle traffic for the 75th Annual 4-H Fair event. Please be prepared to stop, especially at the bottom of steep slopes on the trail/road, follow all signs and flagmen directions.
(2) Dominion Virginia Power has begun construction of underground transmission lines just to the west of Leesburg (beginning near mileage marker 36 and running ca. 2 miles to the west). For some details on this (much contested) project, click here; for a map of the detour itself, click here. Work is scheduled to be completed in December, 2010.
(3) During August of 2010, users may encounter along a short section of the Trail on the east side of Reston (near mileage marker 16) a significant delay/detour -- and possibly a nighttime closure of the Trail (from 9:30 P.M. to 5:00 A.M.) -- due to the fact that eight large girders are to be hoisted into place during this period. At that location the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project is building a bridge above the Trail in the middle of the Dulles International Airport Access Highway between Wiehle Avenue and Hunter Mill Road. Click here for additional details.
(4) The Pacific Boulevard bridge decks over the W&OD Trail were poured in late June. On weekdays throughout the months of July and August, trail traffic should expect flagging operations and intermittent stoppages (no longer than 10 minutes) for continuation of the construction on these decks. During construction of the bridge, no access will be provided between the W&OD Trail and existing Pacific Boulevard to the south.
Geocaching along the W&OD Trail
What is geocaching? An activity enjoyed all around the world by people of all ages and of all athletic abilities, geocaching combines sport, technology, and treasure hunting. With the help of a portable GPS unit that accepts coordinates, one player hides a cache (typically in a small, water-tight container) that contains a log book and other items, and often also a "treasure" that a second player who finds it is invited to take in exchange for the leaving of another "treasure" for yet another player. (Clues or puzzles are associated with the location of some caches; so, finding these requires some thought as well as a GPS device...)
The sport is environmentally-conscious: geocachers abide by the acronym CITO ("cache in, trash out"). To play along, parks rules must be obeyed, private property respected, etc. For more details concerning geocaching and its etiquette, and to see how many caches are in our area, visit Geocaching: The Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Site. Another great local resource for the activity is the Northern Virginia Geocaching Organization.
Are there caches hidden near the W&OD Trail? Yes, several. Some are linked to historical events along the Trail (e.g., a local geocacher has hidden one related to a Civil War skirmish involving the railroad), others to natural features, hobbies, etc. One good thing about playing this sport during the winter months: some caches may be easier to spot!
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All 34 segments of the W&OD Trail Adopted!
Click here for further details regarding the program. |
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New Parking Arrangments in Sterling
The opening of a new segment of Pacific Boulevard over the W&OD, scheduled to take place on or about August 31, 2010, coincides with the opening of a new parking lot to serve users of the Trail.
This new lot will be accessible by taking either of two routes from Route 28:
(1) Waxpool Road (Route 625) -- Take Route 28 to Waxpool Road westbound, turn right onto Pacific Boulevard, pass over the W&OD bridge and turn left into the parking lot access road.
(2) Nokes Boulevard (Route 1793) -- Take Route 28 to Nokes Boulevard westbound, turn left onto Pacific Boulevard and turn right into the parking lot access road just prior to the W & OD Trail bridge.
Both the existing parking lot along Route 28 and the new parking lot along Pacific Boulevard will be open through September of 2010.
Do note, however, that the Route 28 parking lot will be permanently closed in October of 2010.
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Like sticks & swirls of sugar-dusted blue taffy, the center of the chicory blossom is the natural allure
of one of the most generously distributed weeds to be found along the Trail.
Roman gardeners actively cultivated the plant for its leaves (used in salads);
some moderns continue the practice, also preparing the root for beverages.
[You may click on the image for a closer view.] |
Red clover, also known as beebread, cow clover, cow grass, meadow clover, or purple clover --
Linnaean binomial: Trifolium pratense ("three-leaf meadow [plant]") --
another non-native species that blooms generously along the Trail during the spring & summer
N.B.: Either of the above plants is considered to be an invasive, non-native species and, as such, the Friends advocate the cultivation or encouragement of neither along the Trail.
The FCPA publishes a pamphlet that treats of all of the invasive species in our area. That document may be obtained by sending a check for $10.45 (payable to the FCPA) along with a note stating that the money is for the non-native invasive plant ID book to:
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FCPA
Resource Management Division
12055 Government Center, Suite 936
Fairfax, VA 22035 |
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Turtle, watch
Often spotted on the Trail as it plods along (stopping now and again to crane its neck), the eastern box turtle -- Carolina terapene terapene -- has been firmly established in our area for many millions of years. Although this fascinating reptile has not yet become an officially endangered species, it is most certainly at real, ever-increasing risk due to the ongoing (and accelerating) destruction of native habitat, climatological change, AND the well-meaning hikers and children who, when they take the turtle home, inevitably bring about its premature death. This final risk, of course, is one that is within everyone's direct power to eliminate easily: if you should happen upon one of these grapefruit-sized, brown and yellow tanks, simply enjoy its company in the wild, but please DO NOT take it home.
An entertainingly reflective appreciation of the virtues of our regional testudinate was framed for the North Carolina Legislature when that body decided to adopt the turtle as the official state reptile in 1979:
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H. B. 384 CHAPTER 154
AN ACT TO ADOPT THE TURTLE AS THE OFFICIAL STATE REPTILE FOR THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA.
WHEREAS, the turtle is a most useful creature who serves to control harmful and pestiferous insects, and acts as one of nature's clean-up crew, helping to preserve the purity and beauty of our waters; and
WHEREAS, the turtle is derided by some who have missed the finer things of life, but in some species has provided food that is a gourmet's delight; and
WHEREAS, the turtle, which at a superficial glance appears to be a mundane and uninteresting creature, is actually a most fascinating creature, ranging from species well adapted to modern conditions to species which have existed virtually unchanged since prehistoric times; and
WHEREAS, the turtle watches undisturbed as countless generations of faster hares run by to quick oblivion, and is thus a model of patience for mankind, and a symbol of this State's unrelenting pursuit of great and lofty goals; and
WHEREAS, the woodlands, marshes, and inland and coastal waters of North Carolina are the abode of many species of turtles; Now, therefore,
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1. G.S. Chapter 145 is amended by adding a new section as follows:
"§ 145-9. State reptile.— The turtle is adopted as the official State reptile of the State of North Carolina, and the eastern box turtle is designated as the emblem representing the turtles inhabiting North Carolina." |
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(Continuing) Call for Photographs
We continue to request that Trail users send along to us (by e-mail attachment) their best photos of the W&OD. Particularly desirable are images of the area under threat of deforestation, that is, the area from Cochran Mill Road east of Leesburg to Route 287 east of Purcellville. Credit for the photo will be given, of course, but the Friends wish to reserve the right both to use the image on the website and to incorporate it into presentations made in opposition to the proposed deforestation.
To see our gallery of images from the Trail, click here.
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An additional source of information concerning the Trail
The W&OD Trail Report, a blogspot sponsored by John Brunow (owner of bikes@vienna, LLC), offers all Trail users an opportunity (to quote from and to paraphrase the recurring page header) "to report what they see during their use of the trail" and to share that thoughtfully with other users. The site's archives also contain a number of fine photos of wildlife and flowers.
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Some reasons not to retrograde the W&OD Trail to a rail corridor:
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•Unlike the mid-19th century when track was first laid down, unlike the subsequent decade of decades -- until the 1960's -- during which the area largely dozed in relative rusticity, the early 21st century finds NOVA in nearly feverish development. Hundreds of homes have been built within a distance of 100 feet or less from the Trail. Were a new rail system to be built at ground level, traffic on the region's nearby roads would worsen considerably because there exist now over 70 at-grade crossings along the W&OD Trail. And, of course, to construct an elevated train through the corridor would cost billions of dollars.
•It is important to recognize that the W&OD Trail is already a transportation corridor. A great number of cyclists and pedestrians use it regularly as a route from home, direct or via Metro, to work or to shopping.
•The W&OD Trail is, above all else, a very popular recreation destination. Between two and three million people use it each year, thus making the W&OD the most -- or perhaps only the second most (after the Minuteman Bikeway in Massachusetts) -- successful rail-trail in the entire country. The Trail also functions as an important greenway for wildlife in our area. It provides food and shelter for birds and animals, both native and migrating, and in this way enhances our lives by providing an increasingly urbanized NOVA with an echo of its more sleepy, sylvan past.
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The Friends continue to offer for sale From Alexandria to the Blue Ridge—The Story of the W&OD Railroad, an hour-long documentary on the history of the W&OD Railroad which became available through the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority in July 2003.
This video and its companion piece, The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park, will begin running on Arlington Cable channel 71 in mid-March, and each continues to be played regularly on the Herndon Community Access channel (#23, on the Cox Cable system).
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EMF and the W&OD
If you are concerned about the possible effects of all of that electricity surging tsunami-like into the metro area through the wires not so far above your head along much of the Trail, you may be interested -- and relieved -- to read this article reproduced by American Trails a few years ago.
One of our board members does note, however, that EMF does affect certain heart monitors, especially on humid days.
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Continuing to pursue its effort to assist pet owners in their extension of the courtesy of cleaning up after their pets, FOWOD now has in place along the Trail four "mutt mitt" stations:
We hope to continue to increase the number of stations along the course of the Trail. You may guide us in the selection of new locations by e-mailing your suggestions to the Trail managers.
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Brief film clips (roughly half a century old) of trains running on the W&OD are now available for viewing/downloading.
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One of the earliest signs of the arrival of spring on the Trail is the shrill chorus of the spring peepers. Click here for an explanation of the frog's scientific name and a brief note on the German count who composed the world's first detailed description of the amphibian.
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Some background on, and an appreciation of, the Vienna Mural Project
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Click here for a chart including the elevations and GPS co-ordinates of all of the mileage markers along the W&OD trail
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The board of the FOWOD normally convenes from 7 P.M. to 9 P.M. on the first Tuesday of each month at the Vienna Community Center (see the schedule below). While all interested parties are welcome to attend, please be so kind as to contact in advance the W&OD Trail Office (703-729-0596) so that, if necessary, you may be given specific directions and so that appropriate, security-related arrangements may be made.
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schedule of meetings for 2010
May 4th |
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Vienna |
June 1st |
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Vienna |
July 6th |
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Vienna |
August 3rd |
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Vienna |
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Interested in the history of Trail?
Visit Paul McCray's website
or
read the updated & rewritten edition of the history of the W&OD Railroad (and Trail)
(For details, click on the image of the cover.)
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Many thanks to D. Stover for the basic design
of the template used in these pages;
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Last updated: July 3, 2010
Problems with any of the pages?
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W. McCarthy is currently directing the layout
and maintenance of this site.
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Contact the web master
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• The W&OD Trail is owned and operated by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority •
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